PUTRAJAYA: Businessman Tan Sri Halim Saad has turned to the Federal Court to seek leave to appeal the appellate court’s decision that had rejected his bid to reinstate a lawsuit against the government, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister II Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
The suit stems from alleged losses Halim claimed to have suffered following the government’s acquisition of shares in Renong Bhd and United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM) in 2001.
Halim’s lawyer, A. Surendra Ananth, confirmed that the leave application was filed with the Federal Court yesterday.
In his notice of motion, the 72-year-old tycoon raised four legal questions for the Federal Court’s consideration, including whether a claim against the Government of Malaysia for a breach of any of the fundamental liberties in Part II of the Federal Constitution is subject to the Limitation Act 1953 or the Public Authorities and Protection Act 1948.
On Aug 18 this year, the Court of Appeal dismissed Halim’s appeal, affirming the High Court’s decision to strike out the lawsuit on the grounds that it was time-barred under both the Limitation Act and the Public Authorities Protection Act.
The suit was struck out by the High Court on May 9, 2024, following an application filed by Dr Mahathir, Nor Mohamed, and the government.
In his statement of claim, Halim, who is the former executive chairman and director of Renong, claimed that he intended to make a general offer to privatise UEM as a subsidiary of Renong, with the implementation enabling the plaintiff to gain full control and ownership of UEM.
Halim claimed that he was instructed by Dr Mahathir and Nor Mohamed not to proceed with the general offer because the government wanted to take over all the shares in UEM through a designated entity, namely Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) or a party to be nominated by Khazanah.
Halim alleged that he was also instructed to leave UEM and Renong as a shareholder and director, including the subsidiaries of the two companies, thus obliging him to hand over control of Renong and UEM to the government and further dispose of his Renong shares at a loss.
He claimed that Khazanah had acquired all of UEM’s shares through its subsidiary, Danasaham Sdn Bhd, thereby gaining control over UEM, which at the time owned 32.6 per cent of Renong shares.
Halim is claiming, among other things, compensation for the forced takeover by the government between July and October 2001 and a declaration that he is a Renong shareholder.
In their statement of defence, the defendants denied having forcibly taken over the shareholding of the two companies, as the takeover was approved by Halim, who received RM165 million in compensation.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
